Official crew portrait for Artemis II, from left: NASA Astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen. PHOTO: Josh Valcarcel/Wiki Commons
Out there in open space, four astronauts fly towards the Moon for a date with history.
The Artemis II crew is gearing up for a historic flight in lunar orbit, an exploit that will take them farther from Earth than any previous human beings, where they will document never-before-seen views of the Moon’s far side.
In the next 24 hours, the Artemis II crew will be on the far side of the Moon, farther into space than any humans in history.
Even as they reach this historic milestone, we will continue learning a great deal about the Orion spacecraft, setting us up for Artemis III next year… pic.twitter.com/qowc7bmfa7
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) April 5, 2026
Euronews reported:
“The Artemis astronauts were gearing up Saturday for their long-anticipated lunar flyby, including reviewing the surface features they must analyze and photograph during their time circling the Moon.
[…] The next major milestone of the approximately 10-day journey is expected overnight Sunday into Monday, at which point the astronauts will enter the ‘lunar sphere of influence’ – when the Moon’s gravity will have a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s.”
Today’s daily planning conference began with the Artemis II crew awarding @CSA_ASC astronaut @Astro_Jeremy with a gold astronaut pin to commemorate his first spaceflight, per NASA tradition. pic.twitter.com/S5rZwhgsNV
— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) April 5, 2026
“’Morale is high on board’, Commander Reid Wiseman told Houston’s Mission Control center as the space crew’s work day began. […] ‘We’re up here, we’re so far away, and for a moment, I was reunited with my little family’, he told a live press conference. ‘It was just the greatest moment of my entire life’.”
Christina Koch watched planet Earth from inside Orion spaceship – by NASA Johnson Space Center/Wiki Commons
The crew will see the Moon from a different vantage point than the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s.
“Apollo flights flew some 70 miles above the lunar surface, but the Artemis 2 crew will be just over 4,000 miles at their closest approach, which will allow them to see the complete, circular surface of the Moon, including regions near both poles.”
Why do the Artemis II astronauts keep calling their Orion spacecraft, “Integrity”?
The crew chose this name for their home away from home because it “embodies the foundation of trust, respect, candor, and humility” of the teams behind the Artemis II mission. pic.twitter.com/un20qoSWSW
— NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) April 5, 2026
History in the making
In this new image from our @NASAArtemis II crew, you can see Orientale basin on the right edge of the lunar disk. This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes. pic.twitter.com/iqjod6gqgz
— NASA (@NASA) April 5, 2026
Read more:
Highly Maneuverable Chinese Spaceplane Touches Down After 276 Days in Orbit – Craft Docked Several Times With Another Object – May Be Used as Weapon to Target US Satellites
The post DARK SIDE OF THE MOON: Artemis II Preparing for Historic Lunar Orbit Taking Them Farther From Earth Than Any Previous Humans appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.